Peace
by Shambhalasoultap
Summary: It's a foreign concept she's slowly becoming accustomed to, an uncertain future she's willing to accept, so long as the man curled around her is there to experience it with her.


**A/N**: It's about time I completed my first InuYasha story. Considering how infatuated I've been with the series lately, it's strange I didn't type one up sooner. Better now than never, I guess. I hope you all enjoy, and leave feedback if you see fit to do so. Thanks!

**Disclaimer**: My name is not Rumiko Takahashi, so that takes care of that.

* * *

_Peaceful. _

That's the word that comes to mind when she tries to pinpoint the key difference between the Feudal Era of today versus the fear-stricken country she fought to save years ago. The paradox still strikes her on occasion, like now, as she and her husband dart through the lively forest surrounding their village and home.

_Husband._ That's another word so different from those she used to define him with, when they were too busy screaming in each other's faces to confront the feelings between them; before, when she was a teenaged girl struggling to pass her exams and he was a bad-tempered hanyou struggling to overcome prejudice in a world that didn't want him around.

…Well, not _everything_ is different.

He's still bad-tempered, and he still needs a reminder every once in a while that he's accepted and loved and cherished by those around him. He's become better, though. He doesn't lose control so often anymore, and she doesn't rise to the occasion and lash back. Instead, she's learned to either sooth away his anger or ignore him until he inevitably comes around. Aiming her fingers for his ears always helps, though he denies the melting of his body under her caresses, even as the air thrums with what sounds suspiciously like a purr.

When she asks how a dog can purr, he counters by mocking her human frailty and short stature. The argument escalates easily (with teasing smiles on both of their faces), and she finds comfort in the interaction, along with a confidence that the three years they spent apart haven't changed anything between them, not really. If anything, they've merely become stronger, more comfortable with themselves and more trusting in each other.

Kagome's jolted from her thoughts by a tap to the forehead, and she looks up to find golden eyes and a puzzled expression on a tanned face. Inuyasha's ears twitch as he speaks again.

"What's your problem, wench? I've been calling your name forever."

She smirks at the exaggerated statement. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"'Bout what?" His dark eyebrows rise with suspicion.

"The past and the present."

Inuyasha furrows his brow, blinks once, twice, then shakes his head and raps her forehead again. "Why're you so weird?"

Kagome chuckles and takes a hold of the arm wrapped around her waist. As he lowers her to the ground, she tweaks his nose in retaliation. "Why are you so nosy?"

The offended appendage scrunches, and he gently swats her hand away from his face before taking it in his own.

"Have to be to get inside _your_ head. Let's get you inside before your weak human body succumbs to the cold."

She chuckles again as he leads her into their home, the noises of the early spring night muffling as the solid screen falls into place over the opening.

_Our home._ The thought brings another smile to her face, and it widens as Inuyasha crosses the spacious room and kneels by the fire pit. Within seconds, the hut is filled with a warm, comforting glow, and the evening's chill is melted away like the frost of winter.

As she rubs her arms to warm up more quickly, her gaze is caught by the hanyou's movements as he approaches the chest in the corner of the hut, claws already undoing the various knots holding his robes together. It wasn't so long ago that she would self-consciously avert her eyes to give him some semblance of modesty. However, as she had become comfortable with the new intimacy they shared as a married couple, the embarrassment had disappeared, only to be replaced with a certain appreciation for her hanyou's fit form.

The fact that he slept nude more often than not dissolved any remaining apprehension she may have had.

She shakes herself of warm bedroom thoughts and proceeds to heat their meal on the cheerfully blazing flame, the delectable smell of cooked meat and vegetables permeating the air.

"Damn, that smells good. I'm starving." Inuyasha comes to sit beside her, his body bare save for the crimson hakama hanging low on his hips and dangerously close to falling off completely. She snickers while reaching over to teasingly tug the material a little higher, and he grins slyly before wrapping a muscled arm around her hips and pulling her securely against his side. His hand strokes her thigh as she fills the ceramic bowls with rice and stew, and he thanks her with a soft squeeze to the skin before letting go and digging in.

_At least his table manners have improved._ She pauses to remove a grain of rice from his lips, a muffled noise of gratitude sounding from somewhere in the bowels of the rapidly emptying bowl in his hands. _Well, somewhat anyway._

Soon, the pot is empty and their stomachs are full (a definite feat for her ravenous companion), and Inuyasha volunteers to rinse the cookware in the river they bathed in earlier that afternoon. She cautions him to keep his pants up, and his comeback is to shove them even lower. She has to admit, the sight is worth the risk of peeping toms.

_The village girls are getting less subtle by the day. Apparently, they don't hold the same prejudices as some of their parents._

At first, she thought it a mere coincidence when she saw the small cluster of young women giggling behind their hands as Inuyasha constructed their home with the other men of the village. She assumed they were admiring the other workers, who were as bare from the waist up as her intended. But as Inuyasha rose to his full height to stretch and pop his neck, the tittering only grew louder and the girls became even more excited.

When she informed Inuyasha of the event later that evening, he only snorted.

"_Silly girls. I don't see how they think they're being sneaky. I can hear their gossiping a mile away when we're getting wood."_

He stopped for a moment and looked at her cautiously. _"You're not gonna get all 's' word on me, are you?" _

She chuckled and rose on her toes to peck his lips before grabbing his hand and leading him back to Kaede's hut. If she could attain a fragile sort of camaraderie with Kikyo, she could easily withstand a few girls admiring her husband-to-be.

The ogling has grown more discreet since the wedding, but hasn't lessened in the least. In all honesty, Kagome would guess that Inuyasha's popularity has risen several-fold. Many of the village women call on the hanyou for small errands when their husbands or fathers are away, and she knows their intentions are slightly less than innocent. She would never accuse any of them of being unfaithful, but she knows they enjoy the view of her husband's naked torso as much as she does. And she certainly can't blame them for that.

Speaking of, Inuyasha returns from his chore just as she pulls back the blankets, the fire-rat struggling to keep a hold on his hips.

Kagome laughs at the sight, even as her body tingles pleasantly at the lewd image he creates. "You still haven't pulled those up?"

He smirks at the question and raises an eyebrow. "No point in doin' it now, since we're goin' to bed." The smirk widens and gains a suggestive air. "Don't tell me you have a problem with it."

She rolls her eyes at the obvious bait and ignores the question in favor of finishing the preparations for their bedding. She hears the hanyou approach from behind, and a moment later, the hut darkens as he banks the fire, the only remaining light emitted by the oil lantern sitting on the floor near the futon. His arms wrap around her just as she finishes her task, his chin resting on her shoulder and his claws lightly prickling her skin through the thin material of her yukata.

"Ready for bed?" His voice is low and gently rumbles in his chest as he presses closer. Kagome lifts a hand and feathers her fingers through his white bangs before tweaking an ear and reaching for the lantern. Shadows blanket the hut, and she moves over the the thick coverlet to settle in as Inuyasha stands to finally remove the hakama from his legs, the material falling to the floor with a rustle. He slides in from behind and secures his arms back around her, tucking the blankets extra-tightly to ward off the pervading chill.

She turns toward him, and the only features available to her sight are the glow of his half-lidded eyes and the slight illumination of moonlight on his hair. She scoots closer to lightly press a goodnight kiss to his lips, and he runs his tongue along her lower lip in obvious suggestion until a great yawn forces their separation and reveals his glinting fangs. She laughs fondly and runs her fingers along the stretch of his jaw, brushing a kiss along his chin. When he finally settles, he buries his face against her neck and mutters quietly.

"Didn't realize I was so damn _tired_."

"We've gotten so used to the shorter days of winter; now that springtime's here, we'll have to get adjusted to longer daylight hours again. It's no surprise you're exhausted."

He grunts in agreement, then snorts. "Guess that means we get shorter nights to fool around, huh?"

She nestles him closer, indulging in the warm breath drifting over her neck. "Mm, not if we start a little sooner."

He huffs a laugh and leaves a lingering kiss on her throat. "Always knew you were a perv."

This time, she plays along. "It took you this long to figure it out?"

"We'll just say I was distracted by that 'skool uniform' you always wore."

She feels him smirk against her neck and flicks his ear for his sly reply, a grin playing at her lips. "I swear you're worse than Miroku."

"As if anyone's worse than the monk." With that last quip and a soft laugh shared between them, silence engulfs the dark interior of the hut, and its two occupants begin to drift. Inuyasha's breathing gradually deepens, and his arms lessen their grip just slightly. Kagome briefly brushes the hair off his forehead before laying a kiss right above his dark brow, her body succumbing to the cocoon of tranquility they've created.

_Peace._ In this perilous world she now calls home, it's an idea to which she's slowly becoming accustomed, an impossibility she's willing to accept, so long as the man curled intimately around her is there to experience it with her.


End file.
